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Bills OG
Ruben Brown
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When Bills OG Ruben Brown is asked how he got involved in community service in Buffalo,
he won’t say he had a grand game plan in mind. He says it just happened that way.
"I’m talking the first day that I walked into town, stuff started
happening," Brown said.
And it just so happens that with Brown’s generous nature, he couldn’t resist
helping out people and causes close to him. Brown’s dedication to community service
and the hands-on approach he takes has earned him Pro Football Weekly’s fourth annual
Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award.
Brown’s foray into community service started with a former coach of his, current
Browns strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris, whose daughter needed a liver
transplant.
"He was the strength and conditioning coach for (University of Pittsburgh), and I
was a young punk there," Brown said. "He figured he was going to whip me into
shape. He and I connected, and we have a great friendship."
Brown decided it was time for him to give Morris something for being such a great
friend and for helping Brown down the road to the NFL.
"I saw what was going on with his daughter, and he never asked for anything,"
Brown said. "I just felt like helping him out.
"(Kara) was a kid who never even had a Pepsi. There was a point in time when she
was young where she had to wear a flak jacket — a bulletproof vest — to go
outside, because if she fell and hurt herself, it could have been fatal."
Brown started the Kara Morris Transplant Fund to help pay for the treatments Kara
needed. According to Brown, the treatments from the hospital and the diet and health
knowledge that Buddy Morris knew from his profession helped keep Kara healthy. She is
still on the list to receive a transplant.
Since those early days of giving, Brown has lent his time and name to several causes,
but his current focus is predominantly on the Salvation Army.
Among the dozens of activities Brown takes part in each year, he organizes and hosts
two major events to benefit the Salvation Army: the Ruben Brown Motorcycle Run and the
Ruben Brown Football Camp for Kids.
Brown’s motorcycle run is your basic, have-a-good-time fund-raiser: Bikers make a
donation to the Salvation Army, get on their bikes and ride for about 65 miles. Brown said
the ride is what’s called a poker run, during which there are different stops where
bikers can stretch their legs, get refreshments and win some prizes. The run ends at Ralph
Wilson Stadium, where there is music, more prizes and refreshments.
Attendance at the run has ballooned in its two-year existence, going from 485 riders in
the first year to 1,650 in the second year. Brown takes care of much of the planning,
according to Major Arthur W. Carlson of the Salvation Army. And, of course, Brown rides in
the run.
"Ruben not only did the promotions — like three, four, five a day two weeks
before — and was involved with the planning, but he’s there all day long making
sure the event goes (as planned)," Carlson said.
That dedication stretches to just about every event Brown takes part in, according to
Bills director of community relations Gretchen Geitter.
"From soup to nuts, he’s the one who’s so involved, and that’s what
makes it so special," Geitter said.
Brown says the football camp for kids is the most fun event and something he looks
forward to each year.
"I love riding motorcycles," Brown said. "I ride all the time. But the
planning and getting (the run) together is a headache. To actually get it to run smoothly,
it’s a lot of work. I enjoy the day when we go out there with the kids. Gretchen does
a lot of the work for (the camp) with her staff, and I just get to come out and
play."
And play he does. In every endeavor, Brown’s integrity has shown through. Maj.
Carlson and the Salvation Army saw that integrity from the moment Brown arrived.
"He is, to use an old Coke commercial, the real thing," Carlson said.
"In an age where a lot of people who are looked upon as great sports figures, and
they often disappoint society, Ruben is the kind of man who is very upfront and very real.
… When he was a child, his mother used to send Ruben to the Salvation Army community
center down in Virginia. So Ruben comes by the Salvation Army honest."
That makes it easy to believe Brown when he says he simply loves hanging out with kids,
whether it’s his two kids or the kids who go to the Salvation Army for guidance, help
or simply a place to pass the time, as he once did growing up outside of Lynchburg, Va.
"(The Salvation Army) would always have all types of activities for the kids in
our area to do," Brown said. "So, they were always there. They had a gym. They
had a field. They had an outdoor basketball court. They had a lot of the adults or older
teens in our area who we knew working there, so we would go there and hang out with those
guys. And they would also mentor us — give us some pointers on life and sports or
whatever."
Brown’s background also makes it easy for the kids to believe that he’s not
there just to make a brief cameo appearance. Maj. Carlson said Brown often shows up at the
community center with his son and simply hangs out with the kids. When an event occurs,
Brown’s dedication takes another step.
"For Ruben, he is there from the beginning, and he shuts off the lights,"
Carlson said. "Some people are aloof, especially from kids. … Ruben just hangs
out with kids as if the 200 kids who are there are his kids.
"These kids come from all kinds of backgrounds — some who are in the lowest
of the poverty level and some whose families are just trying to make it — and Ruben
is there, and he acts just like every other parent, which is a very, very good
thing."
So while Brown has spent his time mostly giving back to causes that helped him or
someone close to him, most of the causes revolve around letting kids have the fun that
Brown thinks they deserve to have.
"I like kids," Brown said. "They’re so funny. … They’re
hilarious. They’ll tell you anything. They don’t hold any punches back, so
that’s fun."
Brown understands that being a kid is all about having fun. And when Brown hangs out
with the kids from the Salvation Army, whether it’s at the community center or on the
Ralph Wilson Stadium turf, fun just seems to happen. |
